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During a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Universidad de La Frontera, the creation of the Gender Equity Office was unanimously approved. Its tasks will be issues such as gender equality, inclusion, and sexual and labor abuse within the university. |
For Gloria Rodriguez, the Vice-rector for Academic Affairs of the Universidad de La Frontera, the approbation of the Gender Equity Office during the meeting of the UFRO Board of Directors is a historic milestone. “This new Office is, amongst others, one of the results of the big student mobilization in 2018, a mobilization in which also a big number of students and employees of our university participated. As a result of this mobilization, the former Rector´s Office assumed a series of commitments that the team around the new Rector, Dr. Eduardo Hebel, has taken on. Now, we are working on the implementation of these plans, and one of them was the creation of a Gender Equity Office that will be part of the structure of the university in order to install a Gender Equity Policy and the elements it involves,” the Vice-rector pointed out. One of the main issues this Office will have to address is the elaboration of a protocol for handling situations of inequality and abuse, as it has been discussed and approved by the Academic Council in 2018 and approved by the Board of Directors. “As a university we know that inequality exists and the institution will work on resolving this issue. There is no doubt that one of the fundamental steps for making a change was the implementation of this Gender Equity Office and future protocols,” the Vice-rector claimed. Another main function of the Gender Equity Office will be the installation of different units, with the Unit for Case Reception and Tracking being one of the most urgent ones. It will be in charge of the assistance, orientation, accompaniment, derivation and tracking of processes (when applicable) in case of discrimination, or sexual or gender-based violence within the context of the university. Until its approbation, the Gender Equity Office was sustained by a temporary commission, but the university authorities confirmed that it was necessary to institutionalize it. It is worth mentioning that the gender policy was a requirement by the Chilean Ministry of Education, which demands all universities to install offices or structures that can deal with this kind of conflicts in an institutionalized manner.
Written by: UFRO Communications Office
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The Second UFRO Science Cafe of this season is scheduled for today, June 4, in Room 101 of the Aula Magna (or via online stream http://www.ufromedios.cl/senal-en-vivo-tv/), at 6 pm. (Chilean time), where the topic "Mental Health in Senior Citizens: Myths and Reality" will be discussed. |
Dr. Claudia Miranda Castillo, an academic at Andrés Bello University (Universidad Andrés Bello) in Chile, will address the most common myths (stereotypes) associated with senior citizens and the psychological changes expected in this stage of life, as well as the main mental health problems that could arise (dementia, depression and anxiety). It should be noted that older people may experience a number of physical, psychological and social problems that may persist over time, converting them into a vulnerable group. It has been estimated that 11.9% of the senior citizens in Chile are affected by a mental health problem. The most frequent problems are dementia (5-8%), anxiety (4.4%) and mood disorders (3.7%). Dr. Miranda holds a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) and a PhD in Mental Health and Aging from University College London, England. The Science Cafe is organized by the Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus BIOREN-UFRO and the Student Development Office (DDE). You can also view today´s session via online stream on http://www.ufromedios.cl/senal-en-vivo-tv/ at 6 p.m. (Chilean time).
Written by: UFRO Communications Office
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This research project was led by Dr. Paula Aguilera and supported by the Technology Transfer Unit of the Universidad de La Frontera. They achieved to set-up a company and the licensing of an innovative agricultural technology. |
The benefits of this first inoculant biological product based on Chilean fungi (mycorrhizae), which has been developed in Temuco, Chile, by a research team of the Universidad de La Frontera, are an increase in the volume of water absorption and that it acts as an agricultural plant invigorator, amongst others. This initiative was led by Dr. Paula Aguilera, the Technology Transfer Manager at the Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus (BIOREN-UFRO), together with Dr. Fernando Borie and Dr. Pablo Cornejo of the UFRO Department for Chemical Science and Natural Resources. Because of its technical features, this biological product comes with high expectations and multiple fields of use, it benefits different plant types (for agricultural and ornamental interests), and even contributes in the ecological restoration of degraded and contaminated soils. Thanks to the incorporation into the Technology based Business Scale-up Program that has been created by the Technology Transfer Unit (UTT) of the UFRO together with Incubatec-UFRO, the researchers were able to associate to form MYCONATIVA, a company that is now responsible for the biological product and that is key in the commercial management process of the product. The official launch of the company Myconativa has just been carried out at Andrés Bello Campus of the Universidad de La Frontera, where the product features and its big potential on the bio-input market in Chile have been emphasized. Dr. Paula Aguilera, who is leading Myconativa, commented: “Myconativa emerged from the university, from science and agriculture. The dynamics and evolution it had is due to the need and concerns of the society regarding the current contingencies, such as climate change, the introduction of biological products in agriculture, water deficits, and the displacement of cultivation areas. We want to be part of the solutions as a company, and that is how the project has developed its own life.” The regional director of the Chilean Production Development Corporation (CORFO), Ricardo Rojas, stated: “This company, which emerged from science and innovation, could turn into an essential factor for our regional agriculture. We have been supporting this project since the beginning, and now, it has turned into a company, within the framework of a virtuous alliance we built between the UFRO and CORFO. This is a scale-up project and that is fundamental for the wide range of possibilities this product has.” THE COMPANY The company Myconativa started as a research project, within the application to a tender for University Research Evaluation (VIU) that was supported by the UFRO Technology Transfer Unit (UTT). The Technology based Business Scale-up Program created by the UTT allowed them to license the technology and to convert it into the company Myconativa. “The support by the Office for Innovation and Technology Transfer, each one of the professionals who know exactly what they are doing, the motivation to create innovative technologies that can be applied to our agriculture and, of course, the business incubator Incubatec-UFRO – our university has great human capital that allows to support ideas, to identify financial instruments, intellectual property, and technical and financial support,” Dr. Paula Aguilera explained. Myconativa is a company for R&D. It is promoted by the university and, based on research, it develops biological products for their use in agriculture and provides services of training, consultancy and analysis. It has a bank or collection of mycorrhizae-forming fungi and prepares technology transfer activities with the municipalities of Temuco and Padre Las Casas in Chile.
 Written by: UFRO Communications OfficeThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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As a member of the Chilean Network for the Dissemination of International Higher Education (Learn Chile), the Universidad de La Frontera again participates in the NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo, the must-attend event for international education. |
The NAFSA 2019 Annual Conference & Expo, "Global Leadership, Learning, and Change", is taking place from May 26-31 in Washington, D.C., and the Universidad de La Frontera is one of the attendees, together with Learn Chile. It is the biggest Conference on international higher education in the world, with about 10 thousand attendees. The International Affairs Office’s director, Dr. Berta Schnettler, appreciates this opportunity and confirms: “This is a promising and favorable opportunity for us in order to position our offer for undergraduate and graduate studies internationally. This is a place where many of the leading universities worldwide come together. And, at the same time, it is an opportunity to expand our links through strategies which we are part of, through Learn Chile.” During these five days, the UFRO shows its academic work and research in various meetings and networking, and creates new links in order to expand its network of cooperation with foreign peers. Dr. Pamela Leal, who is in charge of Outreach and International Contacts, said: “Our program is full of activities that will allow us to show the most important aspects of the UFRO and to create strong links with universities in North America.” The NAFSA 2019 Annual Conference & Expo includes, amongst others, programmed meetings and work sessions with representatives of Boston University, IDP Connect, COODTUR, Macquarie University, Virginia Tech, Cayetano Heredia University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific, the Czech University of Life Science Prague, UPAEP University, Dankook University, the National University of Rio Negro, McMaster University, the National University of San Agustin, San Pablo Catholic University, UniLaSalle, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Canadian Bureau for International Education, etc. Written by: UFRO Communications OfficeThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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The young postgraduate students from higher education institutions in Germany, Belgium, Spain and Mexico are going to stay between one and five months at the UFRO and to join different programs, faculties and institutes. |
Eight foreign students had the choice between different international institutions for higher education to carry out their short-term stays and finally chose to come to the Universidad de La Frontera in order to deepen the knowledge in their academic fields of interest and for their research. The International Affairs Office of the Universidad de La Frontera wants to provide them with the necessary support for this kind of challenge and organized a meeting for these eight young postgraduate students from Germany, Belgium, Spain and Mexico, who are going to stay at the UFRO for one to five months. “Our idea is to provide the best support possible, for the students as well as for the academics, who are constantly working on the creation of links with our foreign peers and the institutions that show interest in our university. Today, we are receiving these young postgraduate students, and tomorrow we might be working on other projects with them, their colleagues or their institutions,” commented Dr. Berta Schnettler, the director of the International Affairs Office. Among the students, who come with great expectations because they want to acquire more knowledge and new professional skills, are Estefania Soto of the Mexican Colegio del Estado de Hidalgo, who is going to spend two months at the UFRO Institute of indigenous Studies; Cristal Rosas of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (National Polytechnic Institute) in Mexico, who is going to work at the Scientific Social Science Nucleus of the UFRO; Elena Beckers of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, who is going to stay for more than a month at the Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus (BIOREN-UFRO); Ana Bucchi of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Belgium, who is going to join the Research Center for Dental Science of the UFRO Faculty of Dentistry; Johanna Jorkowsk of the TU Berlin in Germany, who is going to work at the UFRO Department for Chemical Engineering; Octavio Mandujano of the UAM in Mexico, who is going to join the Scientific Social Science Nucleus; and Sandra Javier and Kathia Zurita of the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, who are going to join the Department of Psychology and the Stress and Health Laboratory of the Universidad de La Frontera.
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